by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

ST. LOUIS â?? The night after he signed his rookie contract with the St. Louis Rams in June, Michael Sam celebrated here inside the Just John Nightclub, where laser lights illuminate the dance floor that is a popular spot in the "gayborhood" known as The Grove.

Sam made a visit to the DJ booth for a photo but otherwise blended in â?? a breath of normalcy for a 24-year-old man whose quest to become the NFL's first openly gay player has support from the local LGBT community, even if some don't see what all the fuss is about.

"I watched it all over the years. I've seen people afraid to come out," said Charlie Daniels, 51, who was tending bar at Just John on Friday afternoon, hours before Sam was to make his NFL game debut in an exhibition against the New Orleans Saints.

"Most parents know that their child's gay before they actually tell them that they are. That's just the way it is these days. I think once (Sam gets) through this initial season, it's all going to go away. He's just going to do his thing."

First, Sam must make the Rams' roster, which isn't a given for any seventh-round draft pick, much less one with his athletic limitations as he tries to crack a deep position group.

Fail, and there no doubt will be discussion about whether he succumbed to all the pressure that comes with being a trailblazer since revealing his sexual orientation publicly in February, three months before the Rams selected him 249th overall out of the nearby University of Missouri.

"It was nerve-wracking enough just to tell my parents, let alone the whole world," said Josh Miller, 35, who manages the kitchen down the street at Rehab Bar & Grill. "But I will say this: he does have some balls to be the first openly gay player in the NFL."

Sam's arrival happened to come at a potentially pivotal time for gay rights in this port city.

About two weeks before Sam signed his contract â?? which included a modest $45,896 bonus â?? St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay issued four same-sex marriage licenses in hopes of triggering a legal test of the constitutional ban Missouri passed a decade ago.

Saying repeatedly he is here to play football, Sam has largely stayed away from anything that could be construed as activism since the announcement. But that could change quickly if he earns his spot in the NFL and has success.

"I think he's the new role model for us. I really do," said John Edler, 68, a Mizzou alum and Rams fan sitting on a stool at the gay bar Bastille. "I think it's very courageous of him to come out and admit it. But I'm an older man, and I remember when things were not as relaxed as they are now."

Edler said his fear is that "some people are just waiting for (Sam) to make a mistake and then they're going to jump all over him." Sitting one stool over, Don Thake, 68, said he doesn't think some will even wait that long â?? which is part of why Sam's announcement carries such gravity.

"It is a big deal, mainly because there are kids involved," Thake said. "Their fathers take their kids to the football games, and they're going to hear some (expletive) in the back yell, 'Oh, there's that (bleeping) gay guy.' You know it's going to happen."

If the response is anything like it was when Bastille hung a "WELCOME MICHAEL SAM" banner outside following the draft, that person figures to be shouted down.

At least when he's on the field, the main person Sam has to worry about is the one lined up across from him.

"I know it's not going to be easy," said Bastille bartender Tony Grace, 54. "I think that (Sam)'s done very well presenting himself, not getting ruffled, being a gentleman. It's a great thing that we're able to step out, and even in a manly sport like football is. He's a man. Let him be the man he is."

Daniels, who played some high school football in a small town in Oklahoma, said he never would've considered coming out then. He waited until years later, after he'd left the Army.

Miller told his family he is bisexual in March 2001, shortly before he left the Air Force, where he was a medic and "Don't ask, don't tell" was the official policy â?? not unlike the unofficial policy in NFL locker rooms for decades.

If Sam succeeds, there's no doubt it would send a message within America's most popular sports league and, in turn, everywhere else.

"Just because you're gay doesn't mean you can't do something," Miller said. "African-Americans had to fight for their rights. Women had to fight for their voting rights. I just hope it steamrolls equality for everybody."

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